Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Marijuana supporters want to ask the governor why his young son can have a drinking party inside the governor's mansion while other citizens can't smoke marijuana inside their own homes without the fear of prosecution.

Mason Tvert, who spearheaded the largely symbolic victory in 2005 when Denver voters legalized possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, held a press conference today outside the mansion at East Eighth Avenue and Logan Street, the same day it was reported in the Denver Post that August Ritter III has been hosting keg parties in the mansion.

"The party was sanctioned by the governor and his wife, who said the only rules were no vomiting and no sexy time," Tvert said. "The governor should grant equal status to marijuana, to allow the partiers to make a rational choice to use a less harmful drug which is legal.

"We're not against drinking. We just want the hypocrisy stopped and allow them to make a safer choice."

In November 2005, Denver voters approved an initiative legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. The police department said it would continue to enforce a state law that makes possession of any amount of marijuana a misdemeanor crime.